Another t-shirt coming your way!
This is the Stanway raglan t-shirt from Cashmerette's new book, Ahead of the Curve, a sewing book designed to help curvy and plus size sewists to demystify the fitting process. I received a copy of the book in exchange for testing several of the patterns last year.
In addition to the fitting tutorials, the Ahead of the Curve book also contains five basic garment patterns, including a pair of trousers, a t-shirt, a sleeveless top and two dresses (all in sizes 12 to 32, with three cup sizes C/D, E/F, and G/H), that can be used to practice the fitting techniques.
For the Stanway specifically there is guidance on a dartless full bust adjustment as well as a raglan sleeve full bicep adjustment, both very helpful.
I cut my Stanway in a size 20 E/F according to my measurements, which I think worked out pretty well.
The pattern requires knits with at least 25% stretch. I pushed that a little bit with this fairly stable organic cotton pique (leftovers from a previous Cashmerette project!) in a gorgeous grass green. It still worked great, though.
I'm loving the fit on the Stanway. Although it's not perfect, it's a much better start than other raglan patterns I've used! Usually I struggle with raglans because I find the raglan seam is too long and I get lots of extra fabric around the seam, both on the sleeve and bodice. Not the case here!
It's looking slightly bunched on one side in these photos, but I think that may be due to the lack of stretch in my fabric? I'll play around and see if the tutorials in the book provide any insight!
I may also give myself more butt room next time; I can see some pooling in the back, although it feels like there is plenty of room around the circumference at the hip.
I'm pretty delighted with my Stanway raglan! I'm really looking forward to a deeper dive into the book's fitting tutorials- so much useful information there, presented in a pleasant, body neutral way.
